Michail Antonio has spoken about his upbringing, dealing with setbacks and the importance of family in an inspiring letter to his younger self.
The advice that the West Ham United striker gives himself as a teenager reveals the challenges he faced and had to overcome as he strived to fulfill his dream of becoming a professional footballer.
In the video he talks about the moment when he was asked to be in a gang as a 15-year-old but his brother steered him down the right path.
"As long as you just keep believing, everything will work out well for you."
"There's going to be times during your journey where there's going to be people trying to influence you to do things," he says. "It's important to have the right people around you.
"Lucky thing that you have an older brother who's willing to give you good advice. The best people for you, to keep you grounded, are your family."
It was not the only time that Antonio's brother played a pivotal role in his youth.
"That time you said you were going to give up and your brother pulled you aside and he said 'I'm going to buy you your very first pair of real boots,' " Antonio says.
"Those were the boots that you became professional in. As long as you just keep believing, everything will work out well for you."
